Source says "just" a lot

Transcribing an interview for a feature. One source says the word "just" too much. It's just too much!!!

It's used in the fashion of, "He's one of those players who just makes everyone around him better," or ... "I just remember the one time when he missed a game with an injury."

Fair or foul to remove the word "just?"

 

Leave it in. Annoying, but not your problem.

 

Sad!

 

Better than saying "you know" to start and finish every sentence... you know?

 

Next time he tries to do it, just say no.

 

Nothing wrong with cleaning up someone's copy a little. The quote may not be word for word by the book but part of your job is not make people look stupid unless they blatantly just look stupid on their own. People tend to say things like "you know" and "most definitely" along with other silly phrases that are done out of habit or because they're nervous. My advice would be to use your best judgment and remove it when it's overdone. I've dealt with a lot of coaches and players who have used "is" and "was" in the wrong tense. Sometimes it's just best to have a little empathy and clean it up, especially if the guy is helping you do your job. I would not suggest doing this all the time but I do think it's OK to help someone who is helping you.

 

Agreed.

 

Write around it. Paraphrase. He said he's one of those players who makes everybody better. He said he remembers the one time Joe Jock missed a game with injury. Not everything needs to be in a quote.

 

This.

 

Those aren't actual quotes, they're just to show the context in which he said, "just."

"Just" is a word I had a problem with because people (who clearly struggle with reading comprehension) could think he's saying "just" like one would use "only."

Because there's a real difference between: "He only does so much for us." vs. "He just does so much for us."

 

Double agreed.

Funny, I once interviewed Bart Starr some time ago, he was in town for an event. Had a nice little chat about a variety of topics. After the interview, he grabbed me and very seriously said, "Make sure you clean it up." I was all confused, like did a unknowingly drop an F bomb during the interview? He said (paraphrasing), "Sometimes when we talk, the words don't come out exactly as we want them, or we stutter or stammer, so don't make it look stupid."

He wasn't dickish, just very serious. I know his relationship with the local media was kinda strained when he was Packers coach (he thought reporters should promote the team, not criticize it), so maybe he was coming from that angle, I don't know.

Anyway, yeah, I always "clean up" quotes to a degree. No use putting a bunch of "you knows" in there when it's nothing but a nervous habit. Same with "like." Nobody needs to read that, and you don't change the integrity of a quote one but by "cleaning up" some of those little language goofs.

Of course, if it's an expletive-laced tirade, no, don't clean that up.

 

The new overused phrase that has replaced "you know" is "sort of."